Second Chances in Chianti (Escape to Tuscany Book 2) by T.A. Williams (online e reader .TXT) 📕

can even be dangerous. Since there’s another gap, hopefully they came and went. I’ll tell him to go up and check if he needs to do any mending from our side.’

‘Your neighbour seemed to be doing a pretty good job of fixing it.’

‘He works hard, I have to say, but I’ll ask Pierangelo to pop up there anyway in case he needs some help.’

At that moment Harry and Millie appeared at the French windows. Millie looked more relaxed than last night but, in fairness, she had had to put up with sitting next to Zoë for the whole dinner. Alice waved to them to come over to their table.

‘Hi, you two. The breakfast’s amazing.’

Millie took a seat alongside her. ‘Hi, Al.’ She subjected her to a mock-searching stare. ‘So, what’s all this I hear? Harry tells me you’ve found yourself a new man.’

Even through his hangover, David must have registered the remark, as his head came up and his eyes focused. ‘What’s all this? Just because I drank a bit much last night, she’s leaving me…?’ He even managed a weary smile.

Alice leant over and kissed him on the cheek – not least with a little twinge of guilt. ‘Don’t worry, David. No, it wasn’t so much a man as a handsome big dog.’

‘Handsome?’ Harry sat down on the opposite side of the table and shuddered. ‘Huge great thing with teeth. Frightened the crap out of me.’ He asked Paolo for an Americano and sat back. ‘No sign of Richie and his lady?’

Alice shook her head, glanced around and lowered her voice. ‘By the way, I saw you looking at Carrie last night. She’s here with Richie, so you make sure you back off.’

‘Good to see you’ve still got his back.’ Harry laughed. ‘But you don’t need to worry. She’s too old for me. I prefer younger women these days.’ Seeing the look on their faces, he added, ‘So you’re safe too, girls.’

Alice considered throwing her toast at him but decided to let it go. Guys like Harry never changed. Instead, she decided to transfer her attention to Millie. There was still no sign of either Zoë or Antonia, but she lowered her voice anyway.

‘How did it go with Zoë last night?’

Millie rolled her eyes. ‘She’s still the same tough cookie, but it could have been worse. She didn’t say anything too outrageous and, to be honest, she was almost pleasant at times.’ She caught Alice’s eye. ‘Really, I mean it. She was hitting the vino a bit hard and, maybe because of that, there was one thing she said towards the end that was interesting. She let it slip that the series with the rednecks and fashion models bombed, big time, and the studio lost a lot of money. She didn’t exactly say they’re desperate now, but I got the impression they’re really keen to sign us all up for this new series.’

Alice glanced across at Harry. He might have the morals of a tomcat but he had a pretty sound business head on his shoulders. ‘Is that right, Harry? Since I’ve been in the UK, I’ve been avoiding social media and I’m out of the loop. I know next to nothing about that show… I can’t even remember the name.’

‘It was called Beauties and Beasts, and I heard it sank like a stone. Yeah, Millie’s right, I reckon they’ll do almost anything to get us on board for this new series.’

At that moment Antonia appeared and the conversation changed to less contentious matters. One thing was for sure – the meeting this morning was going to be interesting.

Chapter 7

The meeting was indeed interesting, and far less confrontational than Alice had been expecting. Antonia did most of the talking and Zoë was quite clearly on her best behaviour. The irritable director was unusually quiet and subdued and in light of what Millie had said, Alice wondered if she was maybe hung-over, just like David. Certainly, it was impressive – and pretty much a first – that Zoë managed to get right through the two-hour session without insulting anybody.

The basic premise of the new show was to be the same group of five people, five years on and now nudging thirty, all still living in LA. Layla and Harry would now be divorced – as in real life – but, through force of circumstance, living within a few doors of each other. Millie, still single, would become the main love interest as she strove to find a suitable mate for life. As for Alice, she would now find herself married to Richie and trying for a baby. As this was announced, Alice glanced across the table at him and saw what might have been satisfaction on his face. She hastily dropped her eyes once more. There had been no sign of Carrie at breakfast and she, along with David, had been excluded from this meeting. Alice wondered what Carrie would think of this new twist to the old plot when she saw Richie and her sharing a bed – albeit just in the show.

The only awkward moment came when Antonia asked Benny how he would feel about taking over the scriptwriting. He, like the five actors, had been excluded from the studio after the end of Pals. Since then, he had carved out a successful career for himself, writing sitcoms for ABC and a couple of screenplays for movies. His reply was predictably honest and direct.

‘It would all depend on two things, Antonia: I would expect to be paid a good deal more than I got for Pals and I would only do it if you could promise me no outside interference.’ His eyes locked onto Zoë’s. ‘From anybody.’

Antonia answered quickly, no doubt to avoid any possible outburst from the director. ‘As far as money’s concerned, that can all be sorted, I’m sure. Conrad has authorised me to tell you that he envisages it being generous – that’s the word he used. Your agents will be able to handle that